The Collector
by ScionoftheForeseen
Summary: An ancient gem has awoken, a collector of sorts. It has been around long enough to see the rise and fall of the Gem Empire, and the formation of the Diamond Authority. But the gem never cared, focusing on doing what it was made to do. However, its new target, one Steven Universe, will shake the gems reality to its very core.
1. Chapter 1

**The Collector**

In the infinite blackness of space, a star shines brightly, illuminating a ship orbiting close to its burning surface. This ship, colored a misty purple, was abnormally long. It's three wings, one sprouting from the top and two attached to either side, stretched almost as long as its main hull. Inside this ship was a slew of crystal-like protrusions jutting out of the walls. At the very front of the ship, there was a seat, upon which a large gemstone resided. It contrasted with the ships interior, which was the same purple hue as the exterior of the vessel. Instead, the decahedron shaped gem was a brilliant clash of all colors, iridescent light flooding out as sunlight past through it.

The ship was still, and silent. Then, without warning, a crackle of energy passed over the gem, and began to glow. Slowly rising in to the air, it began to spin. There was bright flash of white light, and then a large figure stood where the gemstone once was. Its body was mostly the same coloration of the ships coloration. Misty purple hues seemed to move and wiggle along the surface. Bright, geometric lines and shapes were spread across its form, shining with the same multi-colored light as the gemstone, which now resided in the forehead of the being. Its entire body appears to act not as a solid being, but like a viscous liquid given shape.

Its hand swept over one of the crystal protrusions, and a screen began projecting from it, symbols crawling over the screen. The being looked over them for a few moments, before dismissing it with a wave of its hand. Its thoughts had been confirmed, though it didn't know why it even bothered. From the moment of its creation, it had been used to do only one thing.

Collect.

Valuables, to other legendary gems, all were sought after, and obtained. Even after the demise of its maker, the nature of its existence went unchanged. The viscus being still only woke from its trance once there was something unique in the universe. Then, it hunted down its objective, but instead of bringing it to a master, it now just absorbed knowledge and power from the items it obtained, and placed them within its gem-world. Not once has it failed.

As it awoke, it instinctively knew what its new quarry was, a perk that had been given to it to aid in its work. It gave nothing critical, just the name, species, and name of the object of interest. Surprise, a feeling the being had not known for some time, flooded through it. A hybrid. Its new objective was a human-gem hybrid. The being had seen humans before, descending on earth to collect something, and thought them crafty. One needed to be to survive on planet like Earth. Well, it was quite a trip to Earth, and it had been a while since it last used its powers. Perhaps it could communicate with its new quarry, and see how the race has evolved, before storing the hybrid away.

With that thought, the being set coordinates for Earth in to another protrusion and sat down. It began focusing its energy in to its gem, and began reaching across the galaxy towards the hybrids mind.

Yellow Pearl swiftly moved down the hallways of the base, displaying the gems smug confidence in each stride. As she reached her destination, her demeanor changed slightly. Yellow Pearl stood before the door that led to Yellow Diamond, who was known for getting angry every time something went out of her perfectly planned order. However, the Pearl took a moment to collect herself, and thought that this was important enough to warrant an interruption. Gathering her courage, Yellow Pearl opened the door.

There was the great Yellow Diamond. She sat straight-backed on her throne, and was a quickly tapping on the holographic keyboard. As the Pearl walked over, the Diamond paid no mind to her. As Yellow Pearl reached the front of the throne, she cleared her throat.

"My diamond!"

Yellow Diamond finally looked away from her work, gazed down on her Pearl. Annoyance was clear in the stare, so Yellow Pearl decided it would be best to be quick.  
"We have gotten reports that Collector has once again been awakened,"  
Other than an eye twitch, she kept a neutral face.  
"How long ago did these reports come in?"  
"They just arrived a few minutes ago, and as soon as I saw what they said, I ran straight to you," Yellow Diamond turned back to her keyboard.  
"You are to continue to monitor reports on the Collector, and as soon as something relevant comes up, come to me,"  
"As you say, my Diamond," Taking the hint to leave, Yellow Pearl left the room, leaving Yellow Diamond by herself. The great being let an aggravated sigh escape her, and opened the data pad stored in her thrones right arm.  
"Great, another variable thrown in to this mess,"  
As she logged the events that had just transpired, a thought came to her.

What was the Collector after this time?

As far as Yellow Diamond knew, there had been no new objects of great relevance made since the Collectors last hunt. What was so unique, and yet evaded the great Diamonds gaze? Then it hit her. The hybrid, the only one of its kind in existence. Of course, the Collector would go after him, it was how the ancient gem behaved. Yellow Diamond finished typing in to her personal data pad, and thought about the situation. In many ways, the Collector could turn the point of the battle for Earth, in both bad and good ways. If the Collector succeeded in its mission, the loss of their leader would de-moralize the rest of the rebels, and this whole fiasco would be at an end. However, this could also be a curse. While the Collector was no Diamond, it could cause trouble if something it wanted overlapped the plans of Homeworld. This was proven the last time the Collector was on a hunt, and Yellow Diamond swore to never underestimate the ancient hunter again.

As the mighty Diamond turned back to her work, she made a mental note. The other Diamonds would need to be alerted to the Collectors presence.

The small beach home was still, constant lapping of the waves hitting the beach. It was the scene of perfect tranquility. Then, with a loud noise and a bright beam of light, a bundle of chaos rolled on to the scene. Steven Universe was currently getting a piggy back ride from Amethyst, the purple gem giggling as they kept of the pad, and raced to the kitchen. Pearl ran after them, preparing to give them a lecture of safety. Garnet stood on the pad and witnessed the scene before her, the tall fusion smiling as she did so.

"I'm telling you, I'm not gonna drop him!" Amethyst groaned as Pearl went off on her for her stunt with Steven.

"I you say that, but what happens if you trip? Or Steven loses his grip, and falls off?" The over-protective gem shot back, an eyebrow raised. Amethyst was just about to issue a sarcastic response, when Garnet came up and put a hand on them both.  
"Pearl, you need to let loose a little. I understand you care about Steven greatly, but he is growing up. He can handle these things on his own," Amethyst smirked at Pearl, but Garnet wasn't done, "Amethyst, you should be more cautious in the future. I know you like to have fun, but there's a time and a place for that," Now it was Pearls turn to look smug.

Steven let out a loud yawn, which caught the attention of the trio, who glanced at the time.  
"Well, it's pretty late. I think that means it's time for bed," Pearl stated, and helped the sleepy boy off the couch and walked upstairs.  
"See ya in the morning Ste-Man!" Amethyst hollered before retreating into her room.  
"Good night Steven," Garnet said, before also going to her room. As Pearl tucked Steven, she planted a kiss on his head.  
"Good night Steven. See you in the morning,"  
"G'night Pearl..." The hybrid mumbled quietly. The gem smiled, and then went to her room. Then Steven was alone, nothing disturbing the good night's sleep was about to receive.

Darkness, that's all Steven saw. He appeared to be floating in this abyssal sea. Looking around, he saw nothing. Is... is this a dream? He wondered. Then, a bright light flashed in front of him, and the everything began to glow pink. Steven fracked his eyes open to see what was the source of the blinding flash, and his jaw dropped. Before stood a massive figure, lines and shapes giving off an iridescent light burned against the figures mostly purple body. What drew his attention the most was the creatures eye, or what he assumed was an eye. All the lines led to this brightly glowing object, and it gazed at him with intensity.

Then it spoke.

"So, you are the one they call Steven Universe,"


	2. Chapter 2

**An Interasting Conversation**

Steven just stared at the figure before him, dumb stuck. He had never seen a gem like this one before. Finally, after a few moments of staring at the looming figure, Steven shook himself out of his stupor.

"H-how do you my name?"

"I scanned your memories," Stevens eyes filled with alarm.

"All of them?"

"Yes, every single memory since you were made, I have seen," The hybrid felt a bit aggravated, after all those some of those memories are private. But he didn't want to potentially set off the gem, so Steven decided to do what he always does. Talk his way out of the situation.

"Well, since you know my name, what's yours?" The figure seemed to think on the question for a bit, before replying,

"I have no real name, but those who write of me in legend call me the Collector,"

At that, stars filled Stevens eyes.

"Whoa! Gems write about you?" Suddenly, the figure seemed less frightening. Getting over his initial shock, and hearing this bit of information, he became more curious about this new gem.

"Yes, although it is nothing about heroic deeds, and sometimes they don't write me in the best light," Steven furrowed his brow at this.

"Oh, what did you do?" The Collector once again thought upon the question, contemplating how to tell its new prey what it has been doing for countless millennia.

"I do as my name suggests. I collect things, and sometimes those things are the object of interest or worship to a sect of gems, or other species. This has led to some... negative views on me," Steven inched a little closer to the massive gem.

"Have they tried to capture you?" The Collector shook its head.

"No. The reality of my existence was constantly debated. Was it was "confirmed" that I was just too good at my job to be real, I was left to the hands of writers with overactive imaginations," The hybrid giggled at that, before asking another question.

"Why DO you collect things? Is it a personal thing? Or do you do just like keeping things around, because I know Amethyst keeps her trash piles because she thinks it's cool-"

"I collect because it is my purpose," Steven looked at the gem with a confused stare, head cocked to one side.

"Your purpose?"

The Collectors body shifted, and began forming a rounded room around Steven, startling him a bit. He has seen Amethyst shape shift in to objects at times, but it was nowhere near as smooth as what the Collector had just performed. Then, images began to form from the glowing lines that adorned the Collectors body.

As Steven looked more closely at the moving lines, he saw that they were forming the outline of gem similar to the large gemstone that the Collector had.

"Long before the Diamond Authority was formed, there another galactic Kingdom. The Crystal Empire spanned hundreds of systems, embracing all species, was the first of its kind. Numerous rulers came and went, each leaving their mark upon the great empire,"

The boy saw hundreds of differently shaped gems pass by him, then a single gem hung in front of him.

"Then came Paragon," Steven heard venom in her voice.

"She ruined everything, letting the power get to her head. She wanted more and more control, wanted everything to be for her. So, she created me,"

Steven saw the gem in front of him quiver a bit, and then a new gem popped out. This one resembled the large stone that the was the Collectors gem.

"At first, I was happy with Paragon. All my knowledge when I was first created came from her. She told me tales of her perfect Utopia, where everything had a purpose, and how everyone was happy," The young human heard sadness in her voice, as if she was reminiscing that time with Paragon. Quickly though, the anger returned as her story continued.

"But as I started in my duty, I began to learn the truth. Her rule was enforced, not embraced. And the species that fell outside of her plan? Exterminated, not even given a chance to prove themselves. Eventually, the galaxy grew tired of her rule, and revolted. And thus, the Empire fell, and the galaxy fell in to chaos,"

"I didn't know what to do. I had no one to serve, nowhere to call home. So, I did the thing that I was created to do. Collect. My only reason for existing..."

Steven looked at the Collectors gem with worry as it trailed off. He was concerned about the gem, felt bad for it. Being lied to your whole life is horrible, and Steven could relate to that. But even then, Pearl and the rest of the gems only kept some stuff hidden. The Collectors entire world view was false.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and the Collectors body reformed in to the figure that had first greeted him.

"I... I must go. Good bye, Steven Quartz Universe,"

"You know, you can just call me Ste-" The young human was interrupted as a flash of light blinded him, and woke him up.

The Collector fell on to the floor of its ship, it's body no longer able to retain its shape. Random spikes were forming and disappearing all over its form. One arm was rippling like water.

No... Don't think about it! You buried those memories long ago.

Our empire is perfect!

No...

You have a purpose!

No!

You are my Collector!

NO!

Finally, the being managed to get its body under control. Shuddering slightly, it looked out the viewport in to space, gazing out in to the abyss. Why did it talk for so long to the boy? Why did it tell him about Paragon? Shaking its head, it prepared to go in to a stasis cycle to reflect on the events that had just transpired. But before it did that, it summoned another interface out of the crystals.

It swiped some data off screen, and pressed a few buttons. Then, a large green symbol appeared, and the Collector pressed it. The words "SIGNAL SENT" appeared, and the interface faded away. The Collector turned and sat back on its chair.

It's time for the Shards to awaken once more.

Output signal- awaiting confirmation. Cycle-5475

.

.

.

Confirmation Signal received

Begin transmission of stasis shut down of colonies 1-4

Re-activate all units.

Set primary objective: Find the Marked

Deep in the forests of South America, underneath the soil and dirt, a large cavern existed. It was dark and soundless, and has been for the last 5,000 years. Then, a holographic screen, slightly fuzzy due to lack of use, popped up. A stream of data crawled across the screen, before a green symbol fizzled in to view. Then both the screen and symbol disappeared, the cavern once more plunged in to darkness. There was a moment of pause, and then a loud hum filled the air. The entire cavern lit up as lights flickered to life, revealing rows upon rows of metal bodies folded away in the walls.

In an adjacent room, a large being lay dormant. But as the hum filled the air, purple lights began flickering, showing out of the tiny gaps between its armor plates. Then it's eyes came to life, and it clenched its hand. It unfolded from its area of the wall, and looked around.

"So, another has been Marked. Our duty calls once again,"

Steven looked around, and rubbed his eyes. As he got out of bed, he felt a chill go through his body. Steven turned around and saw the frosted window, and concluded that winter had finally hit Beach City. However, he thought of his conversation with the Collector as he changed. The being didn't seem evil, at least not to him. He mostly felt concern for the large gem, it seemed that when it mentioned Paragon it triggered something within the Collector.

As he went to make breakfast, Steven found a note on the fridge.

Sorry Steven! Early mission, promise to be back soon!

-The Gems

As the boy made his breakfast, he contemplated how he was going to spend his morning. It had snowed nearly three feet, so he couldn't have Connie come over, and the new episode of Crying Breakfast Friends didn't come on for another two hours.

"Oh! I could spend the morning with Lapis and Peridot!" Steven exclaimed aloud, and hurriedly ate the rest of his meal. Then, he swiftly put his winter jacket on, and set off to the barn. With all this snow, plus Lapis' water control power, he was sure they could make an epic snow war.

 **Hello all! It's me, Scion. Let me just say, thank you for reading my story. I never expected for this story to garner so many views in so little time. Nearly a hundred views in ten days! To some, that may seem small, but to me that's huge, especially for my first story. Now, I want to say this: I will not be doing just Steven Universe. I have a few ideas floating around in my head about other stories, however, The Collector will be my focus. Once again, thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Awakening**

The cavern, once dark and void of life, was now bustling with activity. Dozens of worker drones moving about, checking for any damage that the passage of time may have caused. Warrior drones, identifiable by their bulkier bodies and coolant clips stored on their armor, set out to secure the perimeter around the entrance to the cavern.

Then, a large being began to make its way through the crowd of metal bodies. It was easily the largest model in the crowd. Several markings adorned its armor, depicting a violet creature that resembled a dragon, and an ornate crest with a gem adorned the top of its silver and purple head. This mighty drone, a marvel of gem engineering, was Zeckron.

And boy, was he annoyed.

Zeckron was not the only the drone of his kind in the base. There were two others, and each had their "qualities". There were some days in the past that Zeckron wished they had not been given true intelligence due the bickering that constantly plagued tactical meetings. A meeting that he was now going to attend. Steeling himself for an onslaught of arguing, Zeckron stepped on in to the room, sealing the door behind him.

"WHAT YOU SUGGEST IS IDIOCY!"

"I am no fool. I speak merely truth. Truth you are too scared to accept!"

"Triarch. Duron. I'm delighted to see that the stasis has not affected your personalities in the slightest," Triarch turned to Zeckron, his purple optics betraying none of the pent-up frustration inside the commander.

"Ah, Zeckron. Glad you finally decided to show up. This fools matrix must have eroded, with the ideas he's spouting," Duron straightened, and clasped his hands behind his back in respectful manner.

"I am simply saying what the reality is. It is not my fault if you refuse to accept,"

Zeckron shook his head, and looked at his fellow commander.

"What have you been saying this time, Duron?"

"That we should severe ties the Collector," Sensing that Triarch was about to let loose another torrent of insults, Zeckron put a hand in front the commander drone to silence him.

"Even if we were to all agree on that, how would we achieve it? The Collector could simply remotely deactivate us,"

"So, we disconnect the colony from Uni-Network," This time, Triarch couldn't hold in his words.

"Which would leave us helpless! How are we supposed to issue orders across hundreds of units without the Uni-Network?" Duron patiently waited for his fellow commander drones burst to finish before responding.

"We would create our own Uni-Network, using the communication spire. That way, we would have our own private network,"

"And what of the other colonies? What if the Collector uses them against us?" Zeckron questioned.

"We will have something they lack. An active Terminus," Zeckron and Triarch looked at Duron with surprise.

"How would we activate the Terminus? It requires the Collectors energy signature," Zeckron asked.

"It's not like the Collector would come and activate her out of the kindness of its heart," Triarch added, suspicion and skepticism dripping from his words. Duron looked to his fellow commander drones with an air of confidence, and said, "While it is true that the Terminus requires the Collectors energy signature, there is one being in this planet that has the same signature,"

"The Marked..." Zeckron finished.

"You wish to bring a Marked in to the base," said Triarch, apprehension clear in his voice, " _And show them the Terminus_?"

"Yes," Stated Duron plainly. In a desperate attempt to stop the development of yet another argument, Zeckron quickly stated something that grabbed the attention of both commander drones.

"Even if we were to put you plan into action, it would take a while to complete the first goal," Summoning a holographic keyboard, he brought up a screen with data crawling over it, and the image of an object that looked like a giant needle. "The communications spire is heavily damaged. Local animals and vegetation have frayed the power cables, and damaged the circuitry,"

"And we don't know where the Marked is. With the spire down, our global scanners are disabled as well," Triarch added.

"For the spire, I understand that it will take time to repair the damage. But as for finding the Marked, that shouldn't take long. The stealth fighters didn't suffer any damage beyond superficial. If we send out the Apex drones, we could have Earth scanned within the hour," Duron said, "We would have the location of the Marked, and whatever data we need,"

Zeckron nodded, and began sending orders out to the Apex drones via the Uni-Network as Triarch looked at him incredulously.

"You can't be seriously agreeing with his plan," Triarch exclaimed, "Imagine the consequences-"

"I have not agreed to either of your plans. What I am keen on doing is acquiring the Marked," said Zeckron as he left the room, "For either plan to work, the Marked is needed. To give to give to the Collector, or to awaken the Terminus, remains in question until further data appears." Triarch was stunned for a moment at the annoyed outburst, before shaking it off and turned to the other Commander drone in the room.

"Why do you want revolt so badly, Duron? It doesn't make sense," The afore-mentioned Commander drone stopped in the doorway, and looked at Triarch.

"I'm simply tired of being a slave. I'm tired of being considered only a tool. I want to forge my own purpose, my own destiny. Not the one that was forced upon me," With that, Duron walked out without another word.

Steven shivered a little as he charged his way through the snow, flakes covering his vision. Winter really had hit Beach City hard, powdery snow covering nearly every surface unlucky enough to be outside. Yet despite the cold, people were outside, enjoying the first snow. Bucky and the gang were sitting by his car, listening to Sourcream's new mix. Pede was currently engaged in a snow ball fight with the rest of his family. Even Lars seemed to be enjoying himself, sipping hot coco with Sadie.

And Onion, well... he was being Onion.

Steven smiled at the site of joy as he made his way through town toward the barn. When he finally got to his destination, he found it empty, with no signs of the two gems who inhabited it. As he investigated, he found foot prints leading out from the barn to the surrounding woods.

"Hmm. This looks like a case for DETECTIVE STEVEN!" The young hybrid exclaimed aloud, and began following the trail. As Steven followed the trail, he began to hear sounds of snow warfare. The horrifying sound of snow impacting on a solid object reached his ears as Steven reached a clearing. There he saw the missing gems. He saw a giant snow fort, roughly the size of the barn, and small green form perched on top. Peridot was throwing snow balls at what seemed like an impossible rate. Steven turned to who she was fighting with, and saw Lapis, wearing her trade mark poker face. Not a single snow ball was hitting her, the spheres of icy doom veering in midair and splattering on nearby trees.

As Steven neared them, he could hear Peridot shouting something about using water powers counting as cheating. Steven smirked as he stealthily made his way right behind Lapis.

"HEY LAPIS!"

A wall of snow greeted Stevens face enthusiastically, and he flew back several feet. Lapis turned around, another snow boulder raised in the air ready to smash into the one who had spooked her. However, she dropped it once she saw who she had hit.

"Oh my gosh, Steven!" Lapis sprinted over to the mound of snow that encased a giggling Steven. After digging him out, Lapis scooped up the hybrid in tight hug. "I'm so sorry Steven! I didn't know it was you, please don't hate me!"

Gaining control over his giggle fit, Steven replied, "Relax Lapis, I'm not mad. How could I hate my Beach summer fun buddy?" A embarrassed blush spread across Lapis' face, as she realized her overreaction. Laughter reached her ears, and she turned while agile holding Steven to face its source. Peridot, was leaning on one of the ramparts of her snow castle, and was laughing uncontrollably.

"You should have seen your face Lapis, its was hilarious!" The green gem said between bouts of laughter. Lapis' face went back to her poker face, reformed her snow boulder, and made it hover above Peridot. Peridot quickly ceased her laughing as she looked at the ball of uncomfortably cold doom. "It seems I've made a tactical mistake..." she mumbled, and was then smothered by the snow boulder.

Lapis smirked, and looked back to Steven. "Why'd you come down? Is there another world ending gem problem?"

Steven giggled, and said, "No, not this time. I'm just bored, and thought we could have a snow ball fight," the hybrid adjusted himself a bit in Lapis' arms, and glanced back at the now semi crushed snow castle, "But it looks like you guys already started,"

Peridot popped out of the pile of snow, and made her way to the pair. "Steven, I had no idea that humans were so militaristic!" The boy looked at her with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You humans are engaging in tactical battle scenarios! Tell me, is this forced, or do human children have an early form of blood lust?" Steven smiled at Peridots naivety.

"They aren't being trained for battle, Peridot. We just do this for fun!"

"Humans throw spheres of ice at each other for fun?" The green gem asked, a curious look upon her face.

Steven awkwardly scratched the back of his head, and said, "Well, when you put it like that, it does seem weird... But it's still fun! Come on, I'll show you!" Steven tried to jump out of Lapis' arms, but found that her grip was tighter than he thought. "Um Lapis, can you please set me down?"

"Oh yeah, sure thing!" Lapis' smiled awkwardly and set her favorite thing in the entire universe down on the ground.

"Thanks. Now follow me, and I'll explain the rules. And no water powers," Steven looked teasingly at the blue gem he was alluding to, who simply put on an innocent face.

As Steven led the group to the middle of the clearing, they were unaware of the metal figure watching them from the tree tops.

The Apex model. The perfect hunter, the Shards top choice for scouting and assassination. A skeletal metal body, and a whip like tail. Two plasma pistols were magnetically attached to its thin waist, and blades were stored in its forearms. Couple this the ability to see both thermal emissions and energy signatures, being able to turn invisible, and being able to muffle the noises it made with sound dampening field, it had the ability to stalk and kill any prey.

And today, that prey was Steven Universe.

It had run the energy scan, and found the Collectors energy signature, flagging him as the Marked. The Apex also found something else whilst scanning the human child. It was a hybrid, and good one at that. A meld of both gem and human life. It couldn't tell whether the molecular splicing was as good, but on the surface, there was no obvious signs of forced melding. Sending this information to the commander of its unit of Apex models, it sat quietly observing the hybrid, and waited for a response.

Capture the Marked. Deal with the accompanying gems accordingly, shattering force authorized if necessary. Use Containment Orb, Stasis level three.

How would I get the gem of the hybrid into containment?

Use destabilization blades, max power. Should overload bio energy parameters.

What if the Marked feels pain during the process?

Irrelevant. Capture it at all costs.

With that, the Apex made its way towards its objective. Moving stealthily across the trees, barely disturbing the snow on the branches it walked across, it neared the Marked. Eventually it was right above it. The group had separated, with the Lapis Lazuli heading to the opposite side of the clearing. The Marked and the Peridot hid under a tree, and seemed to be discussing something. The green gem was saying something about 'Giving that blue clod a taste of icy doom' rather loudly. It didn't mean anything to the Apex, and it finished calculating its ambush. Without hesitating, it dropped from the branches.

The next few moments would seem to go in slow motion for Steven. One moment, he was discussing his plans to win a snowball fight against Lapis with Peridot. The next, there was a large cloud of snow between them. Then, a thin, metal arm appeared out of the cloud and smacked Peridot into a nearby tree. Another arm came out, and grabbed Steven roughly by the throat. After that, Steven felt his back slam against another tree as the assailant fully came out of the now settling snow cloud. Its free arm came forward, and seemed to open as two blades came out of its forearm. The blades formed into one, and then the metal creature stabbed it right on spot where the star on Stevens shirt resided.

He didn't feel anything. No sharp pain, no stinging agony. Just numbness. Then violet energy crackled on the blade, slithering its way across its surface on to Steven. He felt a tingling spread across his body, and the violet energy crossed his vision, filling his sight with the color. Finally, he felt something ballooning in his naval, and his vision faded to black.

Steven Quartz Universe had just been poofed.

 **Whoo, that was a doozy! Hey all, Scion here. Sorry for the late upload, I've been a bit busy, and I didn't want to rush this chapter. Once again, I must thank everyone for the support. Almost Three hundred views! Now, to respond to two comments.**

 **First, DatWriterGirlz: First off, awesome User name. Second, Thank you! I read your works, and they seem well written to me too!**

 **Second, C.O.L.D operative C1: To answer your question, in case you're still confused after reading this chapter, let me clarify. The Shards are gem crafted machines, but powered by the pieces of a self-sustaining crystal power source. Hence the name Shards. As to who made them, I can't say just yet. However, I will say this: they are much older than the Collector.**

 **P.S. I've just noticed that the dashes that I have been using as dividers between P.O.V's doesn't show up in . So, I have just resorted to putting extra spaces, hopefully that works.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Assault** **the Assailant**

The energy released from the hybrid caught the Apex off guard. It stumbled backwards as snow flew everywhere, forming a small crater. After gathering its bearings, and uploading this new data to its local data archive, it approached the gem laying in the middle of the crater. The Apex bent down and picked up Rose Quartz gem, and did a quick visual analysis. Then, it pulled a metal orb off its belt and pushed a button on the device. It floated off its hand and split in too two halves, revealing its hollow interior. Placing the gem inside one of the halves, the Orb quickly resealed itself and dropped back in the Apex's' hand. Attaching the orb back to its waist, it began sending a signal back to its leader.

Marked secure and in orb. Mission success. Reporting back to FOB, ETA 143 min-

Its broadcast was interrupted, as once again the Apex model was caught off guard. However, instead of stumbling back a few inches, it flew several yards and smashed in to a tree with enough force to splinter it.

Cloaking nonfunctional. Left arm Semi-functional. Legs Semi-functional. Motion tracker non-responsive. Gem power source largely undamaged. Deploying Nano repair drones.

As it swiftly finished its self-diagnosis, the Apex looked around for what had hit it. Its violet optics landed on a Lapis Lazuli, a snow tendril hovering over her.

* * *

She saw it happen right before her. Lapis had been using a trick she had recently learned when fighting Peridot in a snow ball war. She learned she could spread her awareness to surrounding water, and essentially hear or see anything where water was. Lapis used this to locate her green friends' ambush locations, annoying Peridot to no end.

So, Lapis was using her new-found power to spy on her friends, when it happened. She was looking at the pair via some snow that had gathered on a low hanging branch. Lapis saw something drop between Steven and Peridot with a blur, sending snow up in cloud. Then the creature smacked Peridot in to a tree, and Lapis was about to recede back to her own body to run over and help her friends, when the beast lunged at Steven. She was rooted to the spot, and watched with shock and horror as it stabbed Steven right in his chest. She watched the violet energy surge over the blade and onto Steven.

Lapis saw Steven poof.

Lapis barley registered the fact that she had cleared the clearing in one motion, focusing solely on the metal beast in her sights. Raising a hand, the snow around her silently twisted in to a tendril of ice. With a snarl on her face, and hatred in her eyes, she smacked the tendril with as much force as she could into the back of the metal creature.

As it recovered from the blow, it locked eyes with Lapis. She noticed how out of place the violet color was, the warm color surrounded by the cold unfeeling steel gray of its main body. Shaking her head free of these thoughts, she made her ice tendril shatter into shards, and flung them at the metal being. Normally, this would spell the end of any who were in the path of the ice shards. Yet, to Lapis' amazement, the creature did not move. Instead it swiftly pulled something from its waist, and shot down every one of her ice shards.

Taking the advantage of her momentary pause, the creature pulled another device shaped like a silver disk. It threw it at her in a blink of an eye, and a white flash filled Lapis' eyes. In defense, she tried to make a dome of ice, but found she couldn't manipulate the snow. She fell to her knees as she felt her form begin to destabilize.

 _What was that thing?_

Lapis could barely think; her form was flickering. She looked up, and didn't see the creature. Lapis looked around frantically, trying to locate the missing being. She heard the crunch of snow behind her.

* * *

The Apex unit had managed to repair its cloaking systems, and after it had struck the Lapis Lazuli with the energy dampener, used it to sneak around the Lapis to get to its gem. However, the Lapis Lazuli was moving quite a bit, the by-product of its form destabilizing, making it hard to aim at the gem on its back. It's plasma pistol finally lined up with the gem, and it prepared to fire. Before it could, something leapt upon its head, throwing it off balance. The shot that would have disintegrated the Lapis Lazuli flew off and hit the snow a few yards away, turning it to steam.

New threat detected. Description: Green hands?

* * *

Lapis felt strength coming back to her, and her form stopped flickering. She looked, and saw what had caused the metal beast to miss. Peridot was atop the being's head, kicking and scratching. As the blue gem shakily got to her feet, the assailant manged to grab Peridot by the torso, and pinned her on the ground. As it did with Steven, the creature raised its arm, blades flipping out. As the recent memory of Steven approached Lapis' mind, a fresh wave of anger came over her, washing away the rest of the nausea the silver disk had caused.

Another ice tendril formed, and Lapis struck the creature in the chest, impailing it on the tendril. Peridot, who had closed her eyes and prepared to be shattered, cracked her eyes open to see the creature had an icicle stabbed through it. The point stopped merely inches from Peridot herself. Carefully crawling away from the now limp assailant, she raced over to Lapis. "Lapis! That was amazing!" The blue gem looked away, and stared at spot on the edge of the clearing. Peridot, not noticing, continued, "However, I would suggest you work on restraint, so that I am not impaled as well when you do your giant icicle thing," As Lapis began walking toward the spot of interest, Peridot stopped talking, and followed her gaze.

It was the spot where Steven had been poofed.

Peridot felt wetness near her eyes as she recalled the memory. She had been helpless to stop it; the creature was obviously more advanced then even Homeworld tech. Yet, Peridot felt as if she should have at least tried to help. Instead, she watched as her best friend on this world be poofed. She cast her eyes down, and tried to hold in her tears. As she rubbed her eyes free of the liquid, she saw something glinting in the snow. Taking the chance to get her mind off Steven, Peridot plucked it from the icy frost. It seemed to have come off the creature when it was impaled, along with a shower of metal shards.

"Huh. It looks like the shard of a gem..." Peridot said to herself, and her eyes drifted to the body of being. She saw an object like the one it used to shoot down Lapis' ice shards. Peridot looked next to it, and saw the orb. Her eyes lit up as a memory sprung to her mind. The metal assassin had not shattered Steven, but put him in an orb! She took the orb from the waist of the assailant.

"LAPIS! LAPIS!" The green gem raced excitedly to Lapis, a plan already formulating in her mind. When she reached her blue friend, she noticed Lapis was staring at Steven shirt, and the rip that now adorned it. Once again, Peridot tried to grab her attention.

"Lapis, look!" She called, and when Lapis still just stared at the shirt, Peridot lacked the social skill to tell she wanted to be left alone. "Lapis?" The green gem asked, looking at her with concern.

"What do you want Peridot?!" Lapis snapped, bitterness in her voice. As a hurt look came across Peridots face, Lapis hastily apologized. "S-sorry, I just..." She looked down to the torn shirt in her hands, and hugged it close to her chest, "I'm still trying to convince myself this isn't real," Tears began to flow down her face, "That this is all a nightmare, and Steven isn't gone,"

Peridot, seeing her chance, presented the orb to Lapis.

"We can still save him, Lapis! He wasn't shattered, it just put him in this orb," Lapis looked at her with watery eyes.

"How would we get it open? We don't even know what that thing is!" Peridot looked back at the impaled assailant.

"Yes, that does pose a problem. But I'm sure if I bring that thing back to the barn, I can find some way of opening it," She looked back down to the orb in her hands with determination, "Then we can get Steven out of there," Lapis took a deep breath, calming herself and stemming the flood of tears.

"Alright Peridot," She said as she stood up, "Let's to do this," Lapis' eyes now shared Peridots determination, "For Steven!"

The green gem looked at her friend with a wide smile.

"For Steven!"

* * *

BROADCASTING MISSION CRITICAL FAILURE

UNIT HAS SUSTAIN HASVY DAMAGED

POWER SOURCE IS SHATTERED ENERGY IS RAPIDLY DEPLETING

CONTAINMENT ORB IS IN ENEMY POSSESSION

BryygOd CasTing Misdfson Critcal Faldineure

Un1t hasssssssss sussssssss tInedsisn heavy162728/$.8.&/!/8/8-&

In an encampment in the hills not far from the human settlement "Beach City", this messages crawled across a small screen. A pair of violet optics looked at it for a moment, before turning to a figure next to it.

"Apex unit 331, scout the human settlement, report back any relevant findings," a metallic voice echoed in the crisp air.

"Yes, Oracle," The Apex slipped away, and the turned to another Apex.

"Apex unit 332, investigate Apex unit 473s' location, same objective as 331,"

"Yes Oracle," This Apex turned toward the direction of 437, and took off at pace Olympic competitors would only dream of. The Oracle, still with a group of five Apex drones began walking in the direction of smooth, arrow head shaped craft.

"The rest of you are to maintain operations in this region while I report to the Commanders," With that, the Oracle slipped in to the craft and took off in to the sky.

* * *

 **Hello to all of you beautiful people out there! Its me, Scion. Once again, I must thank you for all the support this story has been getting! I think I may have a set schedule now, about ten days per chapter. Ill try to keep to it. Now, on to reviews!**

 **1: Savannah9137: Your wish is my command.**

 **2: SarahNYAG: If I told you, that would be spoiling the story, wouldn't it?**

 **3: SomethinaboutMarco: Thank you!**

 **P.S. : The next chapter will be more focused on Stevens perspective, and he'll have a nice chat with our favorite Collector.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Memories**

Pink, it was all he saw. Everywhere he looked, Steven could only see pink. The floor was different shades of the color, all meshed together.

"Where am I?" The hybrid asked himself, his voice echoing. Steven looked down at his hands, and saw that he too had turned pink. It was as if some had drawn only his outline, and filled the inside with neon pink.

"Woah..." His steps caused the floor to ripple, and he felt warm. The place could be paradise, if he wasn't potentially trapped here.

"This is your gem world," A voice sounded behind him, and Steven jumped in surprise. He turned and saw an orb, roughly the same size as him floating behind him. It flickered every few moments, and two pink spots shone brighter than the rest of the orb. Steven determined they were its "eyes"

"Who are you?" He asked it, "How did you get here?" Steven looked around once more for some point of entry.

"I'm a prisoner, like you. As for how I got here, that's simple. You interacted with a part of my prison," Steven looked at the pink orb, even more confused.

"I did?"

"Ah, I should probably elaborate. My apologies. You see I, like you, am trapped within myself. However, I can observe the world around me. I can't interact with anything, and the technology once available to me has been cut off. However, once your gem interfaced with my technology, you provided a loophole. When you were sealed inside the orb, I flowed my being through the orb, and into your gem,"

"Like a magical water slide!" Steven said with awe, eyes wide. The orb flickered for a moment.

"That's... actually a good comparison. I came in to your gem via the energy flow keeping you in stasis," Steven smiled, congratulating himself for a second. Then, he restarted his questioning of the orb.

"Well, if you're a prisoner, what did you do to end up like this," He looked down at his form for a moment, "What did _I_ do?" The orb floated closer to him, and Steven could feel a warmth coming off it.

"We did nothing Steven. We are innocent. Yet, we are punished because higher beings demand it," Steven shook his head.

"Why would they do that?"

"Because, Steven," they orb said, and Steven could here anger creeping in to its voice, "Beings of high power are afraid to change, fearing even the slightest difference could bring them all down," The orb floated closer to Steven, and the warmth began to make him uncomfortable, "My race was subdued because we could damage the cycle," the warmth began to feel like Steven was standing in front of a raging fire, "You were captured because if you were to go free, you could _break the cycle!_ "

"W-what cycle? How would I break it?" Steve asked, backing up slightly. A bright iridescent light snaked beneath him, and was soon followed by another. "Uh, Mr. Orb? What are those?"

"The Collectors energy mark. The scent that leads its attack dogs, the Shards, to you," the light began culminating not far from where the pair was standing, "And that means I don't have much time. The Collector is attempting to establish contact," Steven didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, he wanted to ask the Collector so many questions. On the other, the orb had just said that the Collector had marked him for some sort of hunt. His thinking was interrupted by the orb. "I've shielded your mind; the Collector will not be able to tap into your most recent memories. Say nothing of this meeting," And with that, the orb faded away, and the Warmth retreated. Steven was alone, and the only thing he could do was watch the Collectors form slowly take shape as the spheres of light melded together.

* * *

The Collector didn't know why it had felt the need to talk to the hybrid. If nothing else, it should be wanting to avoid it completely. Yet, there was something in the back of its mind that just kept nagging at it. It's decision to talk to the hybrid happened whilst it was perusing its vast collection. Weapons, gems, powerful artifacts. You name it, the Collector had it. Usually walking amidst the collection which it had lovingly gathered over the course of countless millennia calmed the Collector, filling it with a sense of accomplishment and confidence. Instead, the urge to talk the hybrid just grew even more. It was looking at its latest addition, and mulling over the decision in its mind. It decided to talk to it, for if nothing else gained, the nagging feeling would disappear. It left the glowing pink shards floating in their stasis, and reformed in the physical world. Then, it once again reached out with its mind.

* * *

Upon forming, the Collector looked around the new pink environment. Its initial confusion faded away as its eyes came down on the bright pink form of the hybrid.

"Well, looks like they are active after all," The hybrid looked at it, and the Collector could see something in his eyes. Confusion, perhaps, or maybe fear.

"What do you mean?" He asked, voice trembling slightly.

"My Shards have captured you. I was worried that they might not have survived stasis, but now that you're in your gem world, I'm starting to think the spire may be damaged,"

"Wait, that thing that... stabbed me... it was yours?" Shock was detectable in its voice.

"Yes, haven't you figured it out, Steven Quartz Universe?" The Collector walked towards the hybrid, "I'm a collector. And you're my next piece,"

"I-is it because I'm a half-gem?" The hybrid asked, its voice now soft.

"Exactly. You are the most perfect hybrid to have ever been created. Nothing in the universe is like you," The Collector bent down to be eye level with the hybrid, "So I _must_ have you," The hybrid gulped.

"My friends will stop you," he said, a little more confidence in his voice. The Collector just laughed.

"That little rag-tag gang of misfits you call friends? That pitiful bunch is but a speck of dust compared to me," It saw the hybrid grow angry at this.

"They're greater then you'll ever be!"

"Why do you put such faith into those who have harmed you?" The hybrids anger turned into confusion.

"What?" The Collector waved a hand, and an image of the Pearl appeared.

"A rogue Pearl, in love with the gem you used to be. She doesn't care for you. She cares for Rose," Another hand wave, and an image of the Amethyst appeared.

"A half-formed amethyst who is unsure why she exists, and feels endless jealousy towards you. She hates you for being better than her," An image of Garnet appeared.

"The false leader, and taboo fusion. Over confident in her ability to read emotions, and her own are always in turmoil, threatening to split at any moment. Her very existence is forbidden," Next, Peridot appeared.

"A Homeworld gem, who was trying to kill you at every turn. And yet, you welcome her like she did no wrong," Then Connie.

"A lonely human, dreaming to big. To her, you are the stepping stone for her to become something more than just another lonely girl. To be something. You are nothing to her," Finally, the form of Lapis appeared.

"Finally, the most absurd choice you have made. This Lapis Lazuli has taken your ocean, and almost drowned you. She brought Homeworlds attention back to Earth. She brought Jasper and Peridot. She hates everything about this world. Yet, you harbor strong feelings for her. You welcome her with open arms. I cannot understand this decision," The hybrid just stared at the images of his friends, not saying a word. The Collector gestured towards them.

"These are the beings you call friends. What about them redeems them enough to be called such?"

* * *

Steven just looked, thinking about what the Collector had just said. That thing that bothered him the most was that it was true. Everything the Collector said was something Steven had knowingly overlooked. Maybe it was right. The Collector has just shoved the truth in Stevens face, and he didn't know if he could accept it. But it was there, and nothing Steven could do would change that.

Change. The last thing the Collector said echoed in his mind.

 _I cannot understand your decision_

Then Steven remembered what the orb had said about change. How beings of high power hated it, how they fear it. They believe everything should stay the same.

"Your right. About all of it," Steven finally said.

"Good, you accept the truth-"

"And your right about not being able to understand why I befriended them. Why I love them," Steven cut the Collector off, "Because you don't accept change," Steven looked the Collector right in the eye,

"Everything can change, but only if they choose to. My friends made that choice. Yes, everything you said may be true, even the one about Connie, to a certain point," Steven began slowly walking towards the Collector, "But they all made the choice to change for the better. Especially Lapis. You can't imagine what she went through. She spent five thousand years trapped in a mirror, and when she got to Homeworld, they used her as a tool. Lapis has gone through so much," Confidence and determination flowed around him, "And she still made the decision to change. Because she's stronger than you'll ever be," He reached the point where he was right in front of the Collector.

"You're afraid of change, I know you are," Steven poked a finger on to the Collectors chest, "Did Paragon teach you that?!" A bright flash filled his mind, and suddenly his surroundings changed.

* * *

Steven was no longer in his gem world, but in what looked to be a garden. He felt his head look down, and saw not his body, but the body of the Collector. Steven realized that he wasn't the one moving his arms and legs, it was like he was in the back seat of a car.

"How is the new body? I know it may need some getting used to," a delicate voice said to the side, and Stevens head turned. He saw a giant woman, who looked to be made of pure diamond. Long flowing hair caught the sunlight, and her arms were loosely at her side. Her face, with its soft and delicate features, looked at Steven with concern. Then, his body spoke.

"I-I'm fine," the voice of the Collector answered. The Diamond woman came close, and hugged Steven.

"You were very brave to make such a decision. To bear the gem of the Collector," Steven felt warm, and love flooded his senses.

"But to me, you'll always be my Vircosis,"

 **LIES!**

* * *

With another bright flash, Steven found himself back in his pink gem world. He heard a loud scream, and turned to see the Collector in a state of rage. It's entire body was rippling and its massive gem was shuddering.

 **LIES! BROKEN PROMISES!**

It turned to Steven.

 **YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME! I WILL SHATTER YOU!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Steven Vs The Beast**

Steven was in quite the predicament. A very angry Collector, whose body had morphed into something that looked like the result of a dragon and a wolf getting a little too frisky, was trying to shatter him. Steven had managed to make a bubble shield before the great being leaped upon him. However, the bubble shattered upon the next hit. Steven ran as fast as he could, with the roaring beast not far behind.

Stevens mind was racing, trying to think of a way to subdue the enraged Collector.

"C'mon Steven! Think!" Yet nothing came to mind as he narrowly dodged another bite from the Collector. "There's gotta be something around here to help me, it's my gem world!" As his eyes slowly scanned the endless pink horizon, a realization struck him.

"That's it! We're in my gem world!" Taking a deep breath, the young hybrid turned around to face the Collector. It was snarling, its gem still shaking violently in its body. When it saw that its had stopped moving, it let out a thundering roar and leapt towards him opening its jaws wide. Stevens face screwed up in concentration as he desperately reached out with his mind to make what he intended.

 _Please work! Please work!_

Suddenly, giant pink wall appeared in front of the Collector and it smashed right into it.

"Yes!" Steven cried, pumping a fist into the air. But when he heard the Collectors enraged howls, he remembered what he was running from. Steven bolted away as the Collector got steady on its feet once more. "Gotta," Steven said between breaths, "Find a way to get rid of it," The creature was once more upon him. Steven summoned another wall, by this time the Collector was ready for it. It's body briefly deformed into a blob, which in turn slipped around the edge of the wall, before reforming back into dragon/wolf/giant murderous monster. "Okay, that didn't work. Let's try this!" Concentrating once more, the young hybrid thought of another thing to protect him. Three pink lions appeared in a flash, snarling at the beast that was now sprinting at Steven. The pink creatures moved to intercept the maddened Collector.

One stayed in the sights of the Collector, taunting it with a roar. The purple beast growled and leapt to tackle the offending lion. Mid-way however, the plan was interrupted by the other two lions who had waited on the sides for the trap to spring. They dragged the Collector down, and the third lion joined in fight. Steven took the time to begin running, while thinking of a way to get rid of the Collector. "There has to be a way, I just need more time!" The hybrid mumbled to himself. A pained howl caught his attention, and Steven turned to see one of the pink lions being flung into the air. His eyes widened when he saw that was the only lion left standing. The Collector leapt after it, and slashed its neck with wickedly curved claws. The lion shattered in to pieces, and the beast turned its gaze back to Steven.

"Oh crap!"

Steven ran as fast he could, but he could hear the hungry snarls gaining on him. He began randomly summoning walls in hopes of slowing the rampaging beast. Yet, the Collector evaded with ease, its eyes never leaving Steven. The hybrid turned and saw that the Collector was just few yards from him. Conjuring one last wall behind, he tried to run even faster. The angry beast was so close, it would not let its prey slip away again. Channeling all its energy, it charged straight ahead and broke down the pink wall. Steven heard sound of shattering stone, and turned to see the Collector lunging at him, jaw open and claws outstretched. Pink fragments surrounded it, results of the beasts' powerful charge. Covering his face with his arms, Steven prepared to be mauled by the great being.

Yet no bite came, no rending claws tore at his gem. Slowly, Steven lowers his arms to see what had happened and he gasped at he saw. A pink spear had formed, and it pierced the Collectors gem, the stone was now cracked in several places. Bolts of energy lanced out from it, and the Collector struggled to release itself from its impalement. Letting out frustrated growls, it clawed and bit, tried to transform into something else. But the spear would not give way. The cracks in the gen deepened and the bolts began to be spat out faster, and seemed to grow larger. Steven noticed this, and tried to warn the angry Collector.

"Stop! You're cracking!" He shouted, but the shape-shifting gem ignored him. It let out one last howl, and tried to pry away from the spear with all its strength.

It succeeded.

A sickening crack was heard and fragments flew everywhere as the Collectors gem shattered, falling from the spear. The energy was now arcing erratically, and it stretched all across the pink domain. The Collectors torn body, which was now forming in to random shapes and animals, began to glow white. The result of seeing way too many action movies, Steven sensed a massive explosion was about to happen and summoned a bubble shield. His premonition was proven right as the now glowing parts of the Collectors torn body flowed together to form a tiny ball of blinding light, before rapidly expanding outwards. Energy bolts passed through Stevens shield, and latched onto him. His pink form began fizzling, and he felt a massive surge of energy flow through himself. The bright light reached his eyes, and for a moment all Steven could see was white. When the light went away, the hybrids eyes were filled with surprise. The once pink landscape was now darker, almost red. White lines of burning light crisscrossed on the floor. Besides that, there was no evidence that the previous struggle had ever happened. Stevens collapsed on to his behind, letting out a breath.

"What just happened?" The hybrid asked himself.

* * *

"Jeez, how much does this weigh?" Moaned Lapis, who was currently trying to drag the disabled assassin to the barn with Peridot. Lapis had still wanted to smash it into little pieces, but the two agreed that if they were to have a chance of freeing Steven, they would need to salvage the robot. Still, it was severely damaged with a giant hole in its body. Broken and bent metal debris occasionally fell off the broken body.

"Most likely a few hundred pounds. Still, that's remarkably light for a robonoid of its capability," Answered Peridot, who was gazing at the smooth metal orb that imprisoned her friend. While the technology of the assassin was above that of Authority tech, she was certain she could reverse-engineer some of it to aid them. She was the Great and Impressive Peridot after all.

After the pair arrived at the barn, Lapis let the body fall to the wooden floor with a thud. "Careful!" Peridot hissed, "We don't know if everything's stable!" Lapis just crossed her arms and stared at the assassin with hatred burning in her eyes. The smaller gen next to her took a more inquisitive look at the body. It was skeletal, allowing for extreme flexibility. She did not determine a use for the tail, but thought of some scenarios where it might come in handy. There was no visible mouth, just a smooth plate where one would be, and that made sense. Logically, if someone wanted to make a war machine, a mouth would just be an unnecessary weakness. It had violet optics, and its hands had four fingers, each long and ended in a sharp point. Then there was its arsenal, the two weird blasters it carried, the strange disk, and its hidden blades. Peridot grabbed the arm and tried to see if she could see where the blades were stored, but everything so expertly crafted she couldn't see any obvious spots. What the green gem did notice however, was the strange marking on its forearm.

"Lapis, look at this," Peridot showed the blue gem the marking, "Do you know what this means?" Lapis looked at her with confusion.

"That it liked dragons?" Peridot resisted the urge to face palm.

"No! Robonoids don't care about aesthetic, they can't. They don't have feelings," She turned to look at the symbol of violet dragon once more, "There are only two possibilities where this could happen. One, someone modified it's A.I, giving it true intelligence. Or two, which is the most likely, is that this robonoid is part of a group that **is** sentient and they wanted to make sure others knew that this was theirs," Lapis raised an eye brow.

"You got all that from an image of a dragon?" Peridot grinned, pride evident in her stance.

"Well, when you're as intelligent as me, the little details can give the bigger answers," Lapis chuckled.

"So why didn't this 'intelligence' allow you to win a couple nights ago? You know, the one where me, you, Steven, and Amethyst all played Scrabble?" The green gem visibly stiffened, and a scowl came over her face.

"I thought we agreed to not talk about that night," Peridot mumbled under her breath. Lapis shrugged, but a smirk could be seen on her face.

"Guess I missed that part," her face turned back into a scowl as she looked at the symbol, "So there's more of them?"

"It would seem so," Peridots eyes quickly darted to the barn doors, "They could quite possibly be searching for it now as we speak," Lapis clenched her hands tightly.

They can send as many as they like, they're not laying a single finger on Steven. The blue gems fierce loyalty and love to the young human was unbreakable and now that Steven was trapped, Lapis would do whatever it took to protect him while Peridot freed him. However, extra help would be a relief, as the idea of fighting off an alien armada by herself didn't sound too appealing. This caused a much more urgent thought to come up.

"Uh, Peridot?" She asked. The green gem had buried herself in a mound of junk looking for her tools. Upon hearing her name, Peridots head poked out with several cogs stuck in her hair.

"Yes Lazuli?"

"What are we gonna tell the gems?" The green gems first reaction was to stumble backward in shock, losing her footing in the mess and falling deeper into the pile.

"Do you want to be shattered?!" Peridot hissed once she dug herself out of the mess. Lapis looked away.

"I may not like them, but this is Steven we're talking about. If they find out we kept the fact he was poofed from them," the blue gem sighed, "I don't know. It's just doesn't seem right," Peridot tried to think of something to say of that.

"How about this," She eventually said, "We'll tell them when the time comes!"

Lapis looked at her.

"When the time comes?" She said skeptically, "When exactly is that?" Peridot gathered the tools she had managed to find in the pile.

"When we see them again. When the gems come to the barn, we'll them about it. For now," She sat her tools down next to the assassin, "Let's just focus on working. I'll try and get some parts out of this... thing, and you keep watch," Lapis mulled her thoughts around, before agreeing to it.

"I'll stay on the silo," She said. Walking toward the doors, she opened then and immediately backpedaled. There, walking in the corn field toward the barn, were the Crystal Gems. Lapis hastily moved to Peridots side and whispered.

"They're here!" Peridot fumbled with her cutting tool, before dropping it.

"Of course! Why not?! Just show up out of nowhere, at the worst time," Lapis glanced back.

"So, how are gonna explain this?" The green gem looked at her incredulously.

"I don't know!"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Lapis snapped back, "You always have a plan!"

"When I have time to develop one, I do!"

"Well, get to planning!" Lapis glanced back at the doors. "They're going to be here any second!"

Peridot began pacing as she thought of a way to tell the gems. "I don't know how to tell them!" She said, frustrated.

"Tell us what?" Lapis and Peridot both turned abruptly at the three gems who now stood in the door way.

"Peridot has something she wants to say. While she does that, I need to keep watch on the silo!" Lapis said quickly, before flying past the gems and leaving Peridot alone with them.

"Keep watch? Is something coming?" Pearl asked, concern in her voice.

"Hey Peri, what's this thingy?" Amethyst said, the shirt gem having found the assassin laying on the floor.

"Uhhh," Everything was going wrong so much faster than usual, it was stunning to Peridot. Garnets smooth voice knocked her out of her stupor.

"Peridot, what's going on?" The green gem sighed.

 _This planet just keeps trying to shatter me in the stupidest ways possible,_ she thought.

* * *

Zeckron looked at the data display by his flight controls, showing the ships current energy level. He couldn't wait for the Spire to be repaired so that the portal network could be reactivated. Flying to places was extremely slow and tedious, with so many things to monitor. However, this situation required a personal touch. The commander turned to the other side of the cockpit, and tapped a few holographic buttons. A display came to life, showing his personal mission data logs. The memory of when Zeckron first heard of this development played in the back of his mind.

* * *

"Lord Zeckron, an Oracle has returned from the search bearing news," an engineer next to him relayed. Zeckron was currently monitoring the status of the Vault, and helping with restoration operations. After entering a few more lines of code into a computer he was working on, he turned to walk toward the hangar.

"Finish this program while I attend to this matter," Zeckron commanded, and the engineer complied. Upon reaching the large hangar, the commander drones saw dozens of pilot and maintenance drones bustling all over. Then he spotted the slim frame of the Oracle, violet light shining brightly from the exposed parts of the advanced drone. This lack of armor did effect the drones combat efficiency, as their mastery of matter manipulation was second only to the commanders. Armor would simply slow them down. When the Oracle saw Zeckron approaching, it clasped its metal hands behind its back.

"Ah, Lord Zeckron! Oracle Six," the slim drone bowed its head, "I've come with news of our search for the Marked,"

"Report," Zeckron stated simply. He did not have time for frivolous small talk.

"We have found the Marked," Six began, "And we have managed to secure it inside a stasis orb," Zeckron glanced around the hangar.

"If that is true, where is it? And why has the rest of your team not joined you?" Six was quiet for a moment, seeming to contemplate its words before speaking.

"My report is not entirely positive, my Lord," Another pause, "While it is true that one of our Apex units managed to secure the Marked, the unit was comprised whilst sending its mission report,"

"By what?"' Zeckron asked, "These 'humans' still use solid ammunition. How would one take on an Apex?"

"It wasn't a h-human my lord," Oracle grew extremely nervous, these emotions part of the small amount of true intelligence it did possess.

"Then what was it?" The commander drone demanded.

"It was gems, my lord," Nothing was said after that.

* * *

Zeckron shook his head clear of the memory.

Gems... He thought them all shattered or corrupted during their rebellion here long ago. Yet, somehow a Lapis Lazuli and Peridot have managed to survive all these years and disabled an Apex drone. Zeckron had to commend them for their tact and resourcefulness. However, they stand in the way of progress, and therefore must be dealt with. Triarch and Duron were not pleased with Zeckrons decision to deal with it alone. The argument was inevitable.

"What?!" Exclaimed Triarch, "We find out the Mark has gem allies, and that those allies can defeat an Apex, yet you want to do this alone?"

"I'm stronger than an Apex, Triarch," Zeckron replied, "And, this scenario needs a neutral perspective,"

"Yes, an over-eager drone with a lust to battle would not be wise in this situation," Duron said, not bothering to hide the smugness in his voice.

"And a drone whose loyalty and sympathies are in question is not suitable either," Zeckron snapped, growing tired of the, frankly, childish rivalry between his two fellow commanders. "I'm going now, so it is up to you two to keep everything in order here," Zeckron turned toward the door of the room to leave, "Can you handle that?"

"Yes, I believe we can set aside our differences for now," Duron replied. Triarch simply nodded, and said nothing.

"Excellent," Zeckron said, and left his fellow commanders alone in the room. He could hear the shouting begin once he was half way down the hall. The commander drones shook his head, and made way to his ship.

* * *

The noise of a ping coming from the hologram he pulled up dragged Zeckron back from his recollection. He was now at the camp the Apex units had set up. Tapping a few buttons, Zeckron gently set the ship down, quickly exited the craft. The snow was coming down hard, and the white flakes were beginning to stick his body. The commander drone picked up the sound of several more ships setting down near his. Multiple Soldier drones, as well as some Revenant drones, piled out of them. Zeckron hoped he could get the orb without fighting, but brought along a small force just in case things didn't go smoothly.

Recalling that Oracle Six said that he already sent out Apex units to search for a trail to follow to the gems, Zeckron went to tend to his troops. Nothing to do now but wait for information and make sure each unit is at optimal functionality. And when the trail is discovered, Zeckron will take the orb from the gems.

One way or another.

* * *

The clearing was quiet. The few animals who hadn't gone to sleep for the winter were already tucked away in their homes. The small flutter of an owls' wings echoed in the cold night air. Moonlight made the snow sparkle, and the wind howled softly though the branches of the trees that ringed the clearing. One could describe the scene as serene. Of course, one would also have to ignore the small glinting bits of twisted and cold metal that dotted the ground. The otherwise peaceful ambience of the forest was interrupted by the sharp crunch of snow. A skeletal, metal hand reached down and gently picked up one the pieces of metal. Violet optics surveyed the area, and saw that metal bits made a trail, leading out of the clearing and into the forest.

The Apex unit sent a quick bust of data to the camp to update them, and disappeared in a shimmer. The tranquility of the clearing returned, but if one would listened carefully, they could hear the slight rustling of trees branches. If they looked closely, they would see small amounts of snow quietly drop from the branches as they were slightly rustled.

One could say that a creature was on the hunt.

* * *

 **Hello all, Scion here! I'm extremely sorry for the late upload, as family and vacation don't tend to mix together well. But enough of that, there is something I'd like to thank you for. When I checked back in, I saw that this story broke a thousand views! Thank you to everyone who has been following and keeping tabs on this story. Hopefully I can get back to a routine soon. Once again, thank you all so much!**

 **Also, I have added chapter titles, in case you didn't notice.**


	7. Important Update

**Scion's big update to explain why he's an unorganized mess.**

 **Hello everyone, lovely few months it's been, yeah? Oh, that's right it's been nearly _three months _ since I last uploaded. There is a very good explanation for that, just let me get to it. **

**I had to move.**

 **Turns out my job liked me a little too much, and so they set me up across the country. So I had to fix up the house and find a suitable location. And cross-country house hunting is never easy. However, it is all done. I've moved, I've settled down. I'm ready to start writing again.**

 **Well, I guess I've still been kind of writing. You see, my fics have brought the attention of my friends and family. So, I've been getting personal requests for fics from them. This is extremely flattering, but it also keeps me from my actual works. However, there is a bright side to this.**

 **I now have over thirty fics ready to be fleshed out. Spanning multiple fandoms and genres, my phone is filled with intro chapters and storylines. I've also had to do research for fandoms I knew nothing about, such as RWBY and DOOM.**

 **Now, you may be asking yourself _'Well that's all nice and dandy Mr. Scion, but what about_ The Collector? Or Study Buddies?' **

**To that my sweet princes and princesses, I say that both will receive an update within the next week or two. I have both chapters nearly complete, so all I have to do is edit.**

 **There it is my lovelies, my update to my unorganized hell of a life right now. However with summer, things should lighten up. Thank you all for your patience, and have a pleasant time.**

 **P.S. Only certain people will get this, but am I the only one who ships Fireheart and Bluestar? Not saying that your ship is wrong if it's different, just that I don't see a whole lot of people who do.**


	8. Update Two

**Hot damn**

 **It's been a while folks.**

 **How is everyone?**

 **Anyway, just checking to see if anyone wants me to actually continue this story. I've found that I now have free-time to myself. I will be revising and editing the existing chapters anyways. Sorry for the hiatus.**


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